A preliminary comparison of sound quality of maternal speech recordings in varied neonatal intensive care unit settings.

Abstract

Since the 1980s, research investigating the beneficial effects of exposure to maternal voice has been steadily increasing. This has been accomplished by playing back recordings of maternal voice to the preterm infants. It is not known, however, how variations in the typical NICU setting alter the sound quality of the original recordings. This is a sub-study to a larger study in which 58 preterm infants will hear a recording of their mother reciting a rhyme twice a day from 28–34 weeks post-menstrual. A pair of microphones will be placed at ear level of the preterm subjects while the original recordings of maternal speech are played. The sound recorded within the incubator will then be run through a sound analyzer (PRAAT) and compared to the same sound qualities of the original recordings. The purpose of this study is to compare the original sound spectrum of a maternal speech recording to spectra obtained while the recording is played within typical NICU settings (open vs closed crib, pillows vs no pillows, etc.) If it is observed that the sound quality is altered due to varied NICU settings, this information will be important in determining NICU sound regulations for future studies employing voice recordings.